The Week in Number Ones: A year-end roundup
Welcome back to The Week in Number Ones, where all the biggest chart movers from the US and UK charts get condensed into one article. Well, folks, we’ve finally made it to the end of the year. Instead of talking about Mariah Carey and Wham! for the umpteenth time, we’re going to take this time to look back on how 2022 shaped up for both the US and UK charts.
First things first: let’s take one last look at my favourite recurring segment, Where Is ‘Mr. Brightside’ This Week? On a handful of occasions this year, when the chart news was at a low ebb, I indulged my favourite piece of ongoing history. Namely, that The Killers’ ‘Mr. Brightside’ has a contemporary run on the UK Charts that has set a record that will likely never be broken.
For those of you who don’t know, ‘Mr. Brightside’ has had the longest chart run of any song in the history of the UK Charts (and probably any other chart). Ever since it made its first appearance in the top 100 on June 5th, 2004, ‘Mr. Brightside’ has been a continuous and nearly uninterrupted presence on the UK Singles Chart for almost two decades.
Despite never hitting number one (it peaked at number ten the first week it ever hit the chart), ‘Mr. Brightside’ has logged more than 300 weeks on the singles chart. 2006 and 2011 are the only years that the song never appeared on the chart. Although it doesn’t appear in the top 100 this week, having been ousted in favour of the onslaught of holiday songs, ‘Mr. Brightside’ spent 47 of the 52 weeks of 2022 somewhere within the top 100.
The last week it logged was at number 97, giving ‘Mr. Brightside’ a record 342nd week on the UK Singles Chart. Of course, every new week that the song appears is a “new record”, but still. Here’s to 2023 being another monster year for The Killers’ golden goose of a hit single.
Now, let’s take a look at some of the highlights, lowlights, and weirdest moments that coloured the singles charts in the UK and US.
UK Charts
Longest Number One: ‘As It Was’ – Harry Styles (10 Weeks)
The most dominant song of 2022 was, hands down, Harry Styles’ ‘As It Was’. As the longest-charting single on both the UK and US singles charts, this was the year of Styles. You could see him live, on the music charts, in movie theatres, or even on TV. There was no escaping the former One Direction man in 2022.
If I’d have to give any advice to the guy (or his agent, more specifically), it’s to lay low for 2023. You’ve oversaturated the market, Harry, and after the Don’t Worry Darling debacle, everyone who isn’t one of your rabid fans is sick of seeing your face. Hang out, kick back, and relax, my guy. You’ve certainly earned it.
Best Number One: ‘Running Up That Hill’ – Kate Bush
The resurrection of Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’ from a new wave classic to a modern-day sensation was probably the best story on the charts this year. Thanks to some well-placed promotion from Stranger Things, Kate Bush went from an iconic figure to an iconic figure with the largest gap between number-one songs in UK Chart history.
There was some discourse about OG Bush-heads trying to claim higher ground or younger fans not fully appreciating the breadth of Kate Bush’s genius. The only thing that you need to take away from that is that people need to calm down: it’s great that original Bush fans feel vindicated, and it’s awesome that younger people are getting exposed to her music. All around, top year for the semi-retired (but never counted-out) Bush.
Worst Number One: ‘ABCDEFU’ – Gayle
Thank God this song was only number one for one week. I was right about to put crap master David Guetta in this spot for his abhorrent Bebe Rexha collaboration ‘I’m Good (Blue)’, but then I listened to ‘ABCDEFU’ again, and I was reminded just how much I truly hate this song.
An absolute catastrophe of idiotic lyrics and grating musical hooks, ‘ABCDEFU’ got enough traction on TikTok for Gayle to suddenly become Taylor Swift’s best friend. That’s great for her – I’m sure she’s living the dream. But her dream is my waking nightmare now that I have to have ‘ABCDEFU’ returned to my life.
US Charts
Longest Number One: ‘As It Was’ – Harry Styles (15 Weeks)
Yes, just like in the UK, Harry Styles dominated the charts this year in the US. In fact, his reign was more notable stateside: at 15 weeks, Styles became the solo artist with the longest-charting number one single in Hot 100 history (most of Lil Nas X’s weeks at number one were credited with Billy Ray Cyrus).
There’s not a lot that can be said about ‘As It Was’ at this point, but one last hill to die on – Harry’s House was pretty good, and ‘As It Was’ was only like the sixth best song on the album. Also, as has been pointed out, it sounded exactly like the kind of song that soundtracks ‘Toyotathon’ commercials here in the US. To mix some car company references, Happy Honda Days, Harry!
Best Number One: ‘Bad Habit’ – Steve Lacy
The US treated itself to some pretty solid number ones this year. Between Adele’s ‘Easy on Me’, Lizzo’s ‘About Damn Time’, and Beyoncé’s ‘Break My Soul’, the top of the charts was, at the very least, not as embarrassing as it usually looks. But the most surprising number one came from indie R&B king Steve Lacy.
‘Bad Habit’ is the best possible case study of what viral fame can do for an artist. Lacy was only getting minor mainstream buzz before his ode to bitting tongue suddenly took off, and now he stands among the biggest stars in pop. My take is that he’s too singular and strange to stay in that area for long, but ‘Bad Habit’ brought a nice taste of alternative to the pop charts this year.
Worst Number One: ‘First Class’ – Jack Harlow
Where to begin with Jack Harlow. Actually, let’s just skip to the end – ‘First Class’ is a bad song. There, that wasn’t so painful.
The oddest development on the charts this year was the battle between Harlow and Styles for number one supremacy. ‘As It Was’ wasn’t some revelatory classic, but it was way better than Harlow’s flaccid ode to his own success. Harlow probably would have been better simply covering Fergie’s ‘Glamourous’ and leaving at that.
Miscellaneous Thoughts
- Glass Animals spending over a year on the charts before climbing up to number one with ‘Heat Waves’ has transcended its initial annoyance and has now become the feel-good story of the 2022 charts. I’m not really into the “return of rock” narrative that surrounds that song, but here’s to more offbeat choices rising to the top of the charts in 2023.
- 23 artists technically scored number one hits in the US this year, but only 14 songs hit the top of the charts. Seven of those (including “The Cast of Encanto” counting as one artist) were credited for ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’, the most artists credited for a single song.
- Only four artists in the UK scored a number one in both 2021 and 2022: Elton John, Ed Sheeran, Adele, and Wham! That number was a little more extensive in the US, with seven artists grabbing top spots in both years: Mariah Carey, Drake, Future, Adele, Taylor Swift, Jack Harlow, and Justin Bieber.
- Here are your artists who scored their first number ones this year: Carolina Gaitán, Mauro Castillo, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, Diane Guerrero, Stephanie Beatriz, The Cast Encanto cast, Glass Animals, Tems, Steve Lacy, Kim Petras, LF System, Eliza Rose and Interplanetary Criminal, Bebe Rexha, and Gayle.
- The songs that hit number one in both the US and UK were Adele’s ‘Easy on Me’, Encanto‘s ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’, Harry Styles’ ‘As It Was’, Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ ‘Unholy’, Taylor Swift’s ‘Anti-Hero’, and Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’. All six songs were simultaneous number ones in both the UK and US during their respective weeks at number one.
That’s it for The Week in Number Ones this year! See you all in 2023!
